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Regulations on the Hierarchical Approval of Environmental Impact Assessment Documents for Construction Projects Source: Ministry of Environmental Protection website March 3, 2009 Order of the Ministry of Environmental Protection Order No. 5 of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China Regulations on the Hierarchical Approval of Environmental Impact Assessment Documents for Construction Projects The “Regulations on the Hierarchical Approval of Environmental Impact Assessment Documents for Construction Projects” were revised and approved on December 11, 2008; they are hereby promulgated and shall come into force as of March 1, 2009. Zhou Shengxian, Minister of the Ministry of Environmental Protection January 16, 2009 Keywords: Environmental protection, Regulations, Environmental impact assessment, Orders, Provisions on the hierarchical approval of environmental impact assessment documents for construction projects Article 1 These provisions are formulated in accordance with the Environmental Impact Assessment Law and other relevant regulations, in order to further strengthen and standardize the approval process for environmental impact assessment documents of construction projects, improve the efficiency of such approvals, and clarify the responsibilities associated with them. Article 2: For projects that have an impact on the environment, regardless of the investor, source of funding, nature of the project, or scale of investment, the environmental impact assessment documents shall be subject to hierarchical approval authorities as determined in these regulations. The hierarchical approval of environmental impact assessment documents for offshore engineering and **facility construction projects is carried out in accordance with relevant laws and administrative regulations. Article 3 Environmental protection departments at all levels are responsible for the approval of environmental impact assessment documents for construction projects. Article 4: The authority for hierarchical approval of environmental impact assessment documents for construction projects is, in principle, determined in accordance with the authorities for approval, authorization, and record-filing of such projects, as well as the nature and extent of the environmental impact posed by those projects. Article 5: The Ministry of Environmental Protection is responsible for approving the environmental impact assessment documents for the following types of construction projects: (1) Construction projects of special nature, such as nuclear facilities and top-secret projects ； (II) Construction projects across provincial, autonomous region, and municipal administrative regions ； (III) Construction projects approved or authorized by the State Council; construction projects approved or authorized by relevant departments authorized by the State Council; and construction projects of special nature that may have a significant impact on the environment and are subject to filing by relevant departments of the State Council. Article 6: The Ministry of Environmental Protection may delegate the authority to approve the environmental impact assessment documents for certain construction projects that are legally under its responsibility to the provincial environmental protection departments where such projects are located, and shall announce this to the public. The provincial environmental protection department entrusted with such duties shall, within the scope of the delegation, approve environmental impact assessment documents in the name of the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The entrusted provincial environmental protection department shall not delegate the task to other organizations or individuals. The Ministry of Environmental Protection shall be responsible for supervising the approval of environmental impact assessment documents by provincial environmental protection departments on a delegated basis, and bear legal responsibility for the consequences of such approvals. Article 7: The list of construction projects for which the Ministry of Environmental Protection approves environmental impact assessment documents directly, as well as the list of such projects for which the Ministry of Environmental Protection entrusts provincial environmental protection departments to approve the environmental impact assessment documents, shall be formulated, adjusted, and published by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. Article 8: The authority to approve environmental impact assessment documents for construction projects other than those covered by Article 5 shall be determined by the provincial environmental protection departments, which shall put forward suggestions regarding hierarchical approval in accordance with Article 4 and the principles set out below. Such suggestions shall be submitted to the provincial people’s government for approval before implementation, and a copy shall also be sent to the Ministry of Environmental Protection. (1) Environmental impact assessment documents for construction projects that may have a significant impact on the environment, such as non-ferrous metal smelting and mine development, steel processing, calcium carbide production, ferroalloys production, coke production, waste incineration and power generation, and pulp production, are to be approved by the provincial environmental protection departments. (II) Environmental impact assessment documents for construction projects with high levels of pollution in areas such as chemicals, papermaking, electroplating, printing and dyeing, brewing, monosodium glutamate production, citric acid production, enzyme preparations, and yeast production are to be approved by the environmental protection departments at the provincial or prefectural level. (III) Where laws and regulations provide separate provisions regarding the hierarchical approval process for environmental impact assessment documents for construction projects, such provisions shall be followed. Article 9: If a construction project is likely to cause adverse environmental impacts across administrative regions, and the relevant environmental protection departments disagree regarding the conclusions of the environmental impact assessment for such project, the environmental impact assessment documents shall be approved by the common higher-level environmental protection department. Article 10 If a lower-level environmental protection department makes a decision to approve an environmental impact assessment document by exceeding its statutory authority, or in violation of statutory procedures or conditions, the higher-level environmental protection department may handle the matter in accordance with the following provisions: (1) Revoke such decision in accordance with the law, or order that it be revoked. (II) As for the persons directly responsible for making decisions to approve environmental impact assessment documents by exceeding their statutory authority or violating statutory procedures or conditions, it is recommended that the appointing or dismissing authorities, or the supervision authorities, impose sanctions such as warnings, demerits, or serious demerits on these persons in accordance with the Provisions on Penalties for Environmental Protection Violations and Disciplinary Offenses ； In cases of more serious circumstances, a demotion shall be imposed ； In serious cases, dismissal shall be imposed. Article 11 These provisions shall come into force as of March 1, 2009. The \"Regulations on the Hierarchical Approval of Environmental Impact Assessment Documents for Construction Projects\" issued by the former **Environmental Protection Administration on November 1, 2002 (Order No. 15 of the former **Environmental Protection Administration) was simultaneously repealed.